With: A disciple-making relationship

This podcast was recorded at the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina’s 2017 Annual Meeting and focuses on disciple-making. All Christians have a desire to live a life that counts; one way to do so is to spiritually pour themselves into others. But how should they foster God’s calling in their lives to make disciples in the context of everyday connections? George Robinson and Josh Reed examine four key principles of disciple-making (inspiration, equipping, training and mobilization) that are embedded in relationship. They share examples of each in day-to-day relationships to inspire believers to be and make disciples to the glory of God.

Here is an excerpt from this podcast:

One of the questions I want to ask is: How does making disciples, this glorious, big and, if we’re honest, sometimes ambiguous call and vision that Jesus gives us, how does that flesh out in normal day-to-day relationships? Who are people in your life that are far from God, but close to you? Four key principles in disciple-making can be embedded in relationships. The first one is summarized by the word inspire, and the principle there is that we need to vision cast disciple-making as being normal in the kingdom. To some degree, disciple-making has been this sort of nebulous term. What does it mean? Maybe what it is you’re doing is not being effective. I want to tell you a true story from the Word of God. In Matthew chapter 16, we find a picture of Jesus interacting with His disciples. Who are these men that He calls disciples? They’re many of the same people that, back in Matthew chapter 4, we see Jesus look at them and say to them, “Come and follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” This is rooted in their identity. These are men who have committed their lives to following Jesus. In Mark 2, Jesus spent an entire night praying, and He invited some of them to come close, that they might be with Him, to spend time with Him. Jesus is with His disciples. They’re doing ministry together, they’re watching Jesus interact with people [and] doing all kinds of amazing things in the region of Galilee.

Editor’s Note:Josh Reed serves as a senior consultant for Adult Evangelism and Discipleship and Georgie Robinson serves as associate professor of missions and evangelism at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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